Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Invests $66.70 Million in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 199,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $66,695,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 88.3% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 177 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $216,646.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,467 shares in the company, valued at $40,361,054.76. This trade represents a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,705,195. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $330.52 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $316.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $339.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.65.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.